


You Came Crashing In Into My Little World

by wolfjjong



Category: SHINee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-05
Updated: 2014-10-05
Packaged: 2018-02-19 23:29:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2406845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfjjong/pseuds/wolfjjong
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p> Jonghyun comes into Jinki's life with his little dog and some issues. Oh, and he gives people names.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Came Crashing In Into My Little World

Jinki has usually never paid much attention to his neighbours. Once, there has been this little incident when he had noticed that the lady from third floor has ever been pregnant only when her child was already running around on his wobbly legs.

He didn’t like others prying into his business and so it seemed only natural that he would stay out of theirs, too.

However, the first time he laid his eyes on his new neighbour, clad in a black blazer and impossibly tight black jeans, Jinki became... interested.

He might have been Jinki’s age. Not really tall but quite handsome and Jinki couldn’t help but steal a few glances through his kitchen window outisde on the street, as the new guy was running impatiently around the moving van, shouting orders at the movers.

“Oh my God, be careful! That thing cost more than your yearly salary!” he shrieked when one of the man dropped what seemed to be a box full of CDs. “If you can’t do anything right, I’ll just do it myself!” the man shouted and he would probably appear a whole lot more threatening if it wasn’t for the little dog he was holding in his arms.

Even from the distance, Jinki could see his eyes widen in horror as another item from his belongings was put on the ground with much more force than necessary. He ran fingers through his hair in frustration, clearly torn between shouting at the men some more and holding himself back for the sake of not having to move his all things by himself.

Jinki chuckled at the whole scene. He understood very well how hard it was, to be a prefectionist in an imperfect world.

 

 

 

They had a proper chance to actually talk when Jinki ran into him during one of his morning jogs which would be usually a pain in the ass. He wouldn’t torture himself with waking up at an ungodly hour for the sake of _running_ around the city, if it wasn’t for his best friend forcing him into it – but the sight of his new cute neighbour walking his even cuter dog made it all worthy.

At any normal occassion, though, Jinki would wait for the man to get inside the house first for being dressed in sweats, looking all gross after the run certainly wasn’t how Jinki imagined the ideal first meeting with anyone, his new neighbour all the less.

Unfortunately, the other man seemed to have troubles with the door lock and the moment he turned around in search for help, his eyes landing on Jinki, the option of avoiding the conversation seemed impossible.

“Hey,” Jinki greeted as he approached the man, noticing with a satisfaction that yes, the other was shorter than him. “You have to pull the door to yourself a little and then turn the key,” he said.

“Oh, okay,” the other man said and did as he was told, the door opening at a first try. “Thank you,” he smiled at Jinki who smiled back, that perfectly bright smile clearly contagious.

“I’ve just moved into the flat in second floor. Kim Jonghyun,” the man introduced himself and bowed his head a little, flipping his bangs from his eyes in a swift move.

“Lee Jinki, first floor,” Jinki said, his smile not faltering.

 

 

 

Jinki’s smile haven’t disappeared for the rest of the day. Not even when he had his best friend and colleague over later that day to help him deal with the accouting needed to be done for the café they ran together.

“So, this new guy, is he hot?”

The question came without warning; Taemin didn’t even bother to look up from the bills he was going through, simultaneously scribbling down notes all moves automatic.

“What?” Jinki shot back absent-mindedly and punched more numbers into his laptop. He didn’t have to look up to feel the other man stare at him.

“You’ve been grinning like mad the entire afternoon and _come_ _on_ , _hyung_ , I can tell when you like someone. You’ve never been good at keeping it cool.”

Finally, Jinki halted in his work and lifted his eyes to lock them with the younger boy. His expression went stiff for a moment before the betraying grin crept back on his face, as he nodded his head eagerly.

“He’s so freaking _cute_ , Tae,” he said and had to hold back an excited squeal and the urge to flail. To his excuse, it has been a long time since he had liked someone so much.

Taemin snickered and stopped working too, taking his thick-framed glasses off.

“And have you spoken to him yet?”

“Yeah. We met this morning. The name’s Kim Jonghyun. He’s slightly shorter than me, has the cutest smile and some serious guns,” Jinki said, biting his lip to restrain his smile from getting even wider as if it was even possible.

“And you have some serious crush on him, am I right?” Taemin asked and chuckled. “Good for you, hyung.”

“He moved in like two days ago and we’ve spoken just once, though,” Jinki said, his face falling a little. It felt good to get so excited over someone after such a long time when he was already getting used to being alone save for Taemin and few of his friends.

“Nah, give it time. If he’s new around here, he’ll need some sort of a help sooner or later.”

 

 

 

Much to Jinki’s disappointment, he didn’t have a chance to talk to Jonghyun for the rest of the week. Even though he was going for his morning jogs as usual, they weren’t able to meet. And because of his nature, Jinki just couldn’t bring himself to go and start a conversation with Jonghyun out of the blue. The “hi-I’ve-run-out-of-milk-can-I-borrow-some-of-yours” kind of thing was never his way of handling things.

There was one thing about the other man he’s grown fond of, though, even without actually seeing him.

The piano.

He’s heard it for the first time the night after Taemin’s visit, and it soon became his favourite thing to do in the evening when TV was just too boring to watch – to just sit in his club chair with a cup of tea or glass of wine and to listen to Jonghyun play. He didn’t know the songs but he let the melodies lull him almost to sleep. Every evening he relished the music and the way it made him both so calm and excited at the same time. It was beautiful and Jinki could always appreciate a nice music.

 

 

 

“So I googled him,” Taemin announced few days later, when Jinki had his shift together with him because it was the busy Friday night.

“You did?” he asked, raising an eyebrow amusedly. Of course he was curious about his new neighbour and the fact he haven’t seen him ever since that one meeting wasn’t helping anything, but to actually _google_ _him_... Jinki laughed under his breath, gaining himself a pout from the younger boy.

“Yep. Kim Jonghyun, twenty-five years old. Released two albums and had many live shows, mainly in Europe and America, which is probably why you didn’t recognize him. But last year he suddenly put all his activities on hiatus and I couldn’t find any info concerning the reason _why_ ,” the younger man pouted again. “Guess it’s your mission to find out, hyung,” he then grinned and walked off to take orders before Jinki could respond anything in return.

“ _Mission_ ,” Jinki scoffed, wiping the bar clean from red wine stains.

He would be lying if he were to say that the fact that Jonghyun ‘had a secret’ didn’t appeal to him. He recalled the soft smile and those huge eyes looking up to him back when he fought with the lock, and wondered what kind of things might be hidden behind them.

 

 

 

When Jinki got home later that evening, tired and wishing for nothing else but a hot shower and the comfort of his bed, he was greeted with muffled but persistent barking from some of the upper floors.

He knew that Jonghyun had a dog. So far there has been no problem with the little puppy and Jinki hoped that the noise would die down before it would get on his tired nerves more than it already did, headache just about to break out.

Jinki hoped in vain.

Almost twenty minutes have passed and the the barking could still be heard through the thin floor and it didn’t seem that the owner of the dog tried to do anything about the noise.

Jinki tried to ignore it. He tried to watch the TV, tried to occupy himself with making himself a cup of tea but in the end his patience has run out and with a grunt he decided to walk the floor up and knock on Jonghyun’s door.

When there was no answer other than the now bordeline irritating barking, he knocked with more force, still to no avail.

Only then the thought that something might have happened crossed his mind, the feeling of panic spreading through him, tightening his chest.

Biting his lips, he grabbed the doorknob praying for the door to be unlocked. The door opened almost instantly and with a beating heart and a guilty feeling of intruding someone’s home like that, Jinki entered the flat.

“Jonghyun-ssi?!” he called out and for a moment, the barking stopped.

There was no answer from the man, only the little dachsie puppy came running to him, starting to bark furiously.

Jinki hesitated but then he decided to proceed further into the flat. He followed the puppy that was now running towards to what Jinki guessed to be a bathroom door, assuming that the layout of the flat would be identical with his.

“Is he in there?” Jinki asked the dog and knocked on the door, feeling a blood rush to his cheeks and ears at the idea of the man that he might have crush on being inside... naked.

Jinki sighed.

He felt like breaking all of his principles but somehow the possibility that something really happened to Jonghyun was much more important to him, at that moment, than staying out of the other’s business.

“Jonghyun-ssi, I’m coming in,” he called out and opened the door a crack, waiting for a response before entering.

When there was still the same silence, he finally entered the bathroom, suddenly freezing on his spot, breath literally knocked out of his lungs at the sight of the lifeless body in the bathtub.

“Oh my God, Jonghyun!” Jinki screamed and rushed to the other man, kneeling next to him and shaking him awake—

—which wasn’t hard at all as the other’s eyes shot open instantly, the man letting out a loud shriek and trying to pull himself away from Jinki, who, in progress, lost his balance and fell down on his back.

“What the hell?!” Jonghyun shouted, water splashing everywhere around him as he flailed his limbs around, trying to not drown himself. “Are you crazy?!”

At that Jinki snapped out of his state of complete and utter shock, his face burning red as he backed off from the bathtub until his back hit the drawer behind him, all this time unable to say anything to his defense.

When he finally stumbled back to his feet, he pretty much dashed out out of the door, bowing ninety degrees.

“I’m sorry!” he shouted through the closed door, trying his best not to sound as desperate as he felt because hell, out of all things, dying from emabarassement didn’t seem all that tempting. “Your dog was barking and I thought something happened to you! I swear I’m no stalker!”

When there was no answer, Jinki fell silent, contemplating whether he should just leave. But before he could even move, the door shot opened and Jonghyun stood there clad in bathrobe, the huge brown orbs piercing through Jinki in accusation.

“You scared me to death,” he said humourlessly.

Jinki took in a deep breath, finally feeling his composure coming back.

“Well, it’s not just my fault. Your dog was barking at least half an hour and you could die like that, you know, sleeping in a bathtub!” he said and watched the shorter man pout. “Actually, you should be thanking me for saving your ass from drowning.”

“Doesn’t change the fact that you’re a creep! And I wasn’t drowning before you came and tried to kill me,” Jonghyun shot back at which Jinki winced because only now he noticed that the other man was actually trembling a little.

“Listen, I’m really sorry. This was seriously a bad start. I’ll just leave and we’ll forget about me ever breaking into your flat and trying to save you when you didn’t need, okay?” he said, praying it could be really that easy.

However, he got the hint when Jonghyun didn’t say anything. This wasn’t going to get worked out _that_ easily.

He turned to leave, feeling his heart drop down all the way to the floor because, really, how on Earth could he screw it up so much. Taemin will laugh his ass off, he thought hopelessly as he made it to the door.

But then Jonghyun’s voice stopped him dead in tracks.

“Wait, Jinki-yah!” he called and Jinki thought it sounded somewhat weak, tinted with plea. “C-could you...” Jonghyun cleared his throat and looked up to Jinki with an expression that considerably reminded Jinki of the little puppy sniffing at his feet.

“I know this is gonna sound totally weird but... could you spend the night here?”

Jinki blinked, feeling like he must’ve misheard. Yeah. _Definitely_.

“What?” he asked and wanted to add something about Jonghyun being the real creep here but the sight at the other man biting his lip consciously, with his shoulders quite obviously slouched, Jinki somehow couldn’t let the joke leave his lips.

Not with Jonghyun looking down on the floor, brows furrowed and cheeks flushed, looking all sorts of adorable.

“Well, I can’t sleep lately,” Jonghyun said, his eyes still locked on the floor. “Whenever I lie down in the bed I feel like there’s this weight crushing me. The flat is too big and I think that it’d be better if someone was here but I don’t have anyone to ask but you,” he trailed off and looked up to Jinki who stood there, convinced he’s either dreaming or the other man is making fun of him. Probably the latter.

“Just this one night, _please_?”

 

 

 

The cutest guy you’ve ever seen asking you to spend a night at his place, looking all distressed while doing so – who could say no to that?

Jinki knew he couldn’t.

And that was how he’s found himself half an hour later on the couch in Jonghyun’s living room, said boy snuggled so close to his side, Jinki could feel every rise and fall of his chest as he breathed slowly.

“I’m sorry I freaked out so much. I wasn’t always like this, you know,” he said quietly out of nowhere, stroking his dog –whose name was Roo as Jinki learned– distractedly.

Jinki turned to his side to study the regions of the other boy’s face in the dim light. Jonghyun attracted him. There was no doubt about it by now. But there seemed to be quite a lot hidden behind the attitude the other seemed to have during the day and that seemed to dissolve who-knows-where during the night.

“Does it have something to do with the hiatus you went into a year ago?” Jinki asked bluntly, throwing away most of his usual aloofness.

Jonghyun shot him a sideways glance and bit his lip, brows furrowing together.

“So you knew?” he asked, souding rather tired than surprised.

“Kind of,” Jinki admitted. “I’m sorry, it’s not my business.”

“No, it’s just that... I’m trying to get back in the game, you know. To move on,” Jonghyun said and left it at there.

Jinki didn’t ask any more even though his curiosity only grew, leaving him with dozens of scenarios of what might have happened to the musician.

From that moment they sat in complete silence, save for Roo’s sniffing, and Jinki wondered how it was even possible for them to be this comfortable when they barely knew each other and after such a non-standard turn of events. He didn’t want to have his hopes flying too high but he felt content and wished he could get to know Jonghyun better. At least well enough so that the other man would tell him more about himself willingly.

 

 

 

It was still dark and Jonghyun was still asleep when Jinki suddenly woke up with a jolt, feeling Jonghyun’s weight on his shoulder that was already numb. Jinki watched him in the weak light of the paling night – hair unstyled, lips slightly parted – and he felt unfamiliar heavy feeling settling in the pit of his stomach. It was something suspiciously close to worry about the shorter boy, and Jinki found it just weird because, really, it wasn’t any of his business, it shouldn’t have bothered him.

But it did.

Carefully, so that didn’t wake him up, Jinki shifted in his postion so that he could lay Jonghyun on the couch and get up.

The other man grunted in his sleep but didn’t wake up, not even when Jinki tripped over himself and hit his knee hard in the coffee table.

Finally, with a little luck and Roo running excitedly under his feet, he made it out of Jonghyun’s flat only to return back to his door few minutes later, sticking a post-it note to it, praying that the sleeping man will notice it soon enough.

“ _I’m sorry once again. If you need anything, I’m down there._ ”

 

 

 

The next day, Jinki had a day off.

It was raining since the very morning and even though he would usually probably hang out in his café even on his day off, this time he stayed home. He was planning to spend it all by organizing his movie magazine collection that was slightly getting out of hand, but for certain reason he couldn’t focus at all.

Jonghyun had a visit.

That much Jinki knew when an unknown car parked outside the house, directly under Jinki’s kitchen window. He recognized it didn’t belong to any of his neighbors simply because, even with his oblivious self, he _would_ notice if anyone owned a _hot pink_ Mini Cooper.

Jinki really thought Jonghyun’s business had nothing to do with him and so it was beyond him why he even felt so uneasy about Jonghyun having a visit. Wasn’t it actually a good thing? Didn’t the other man say indirectly that he had been lonely lately?

Jinki tried to ignore his feelings gone wild by occupying himself with the magazines but when the voices in the upper floor started getting loud enough to be heard through the thin ceiling, Jinki really couldn’t ignore it anymore.

They were obviously fighting, yelling at each other and Jinki was genuinely glad he couldn’t understand what they were saying.

What unnerved him was that it went on for _hours_.

Finally, he heard the door from the upper flat slam shut, someone stomping down the stairs and slamming the front door with just as much force.

Jinki left his magazines abandoned and without a second thought he made it to the window. From behind the drapes he watched as a man – _a man_ , Jinki noticed and felt a pang of guilt because he shouldn’t have felt as relieved as he did upon finding out that it wasn’t a female spending her afternoon in Jonghyun’s flat – walked to the eccentric car. He scrunched his nose in a slight distaste, taking in the man’s retreating back. He had this old-fashioned hat on his head and a black sweater with white polka dots and overall he looked as one of _those_ people that so often came to his café.

A freaking hipster in a Mini.

He turned away from the window, deciding he would let it go, and repeated to himself for the nth time that it _really_ had nothing to do with him.

However, his determination to let go was sent to hell when the very person he tried to not think about appeared at his door only a few minutes later.

“Um, hi,” he said and smiled as Jinki opened the door, making a room for Jonghyun to enter.

“Hi,” Jinki smiled back but couldn’t _not_ notice the red tint of his eyes as Jonghyun looked around, scratching the back of his neck.

“Thank you for the night,” he started awkwardly, not meeting Jinki’s eyes. “You said that I could come if I needed something?”

Jinki’s heart skipped a beat and he had to bite back a smile as it didn’t seem appropriate with Jonghyun looking so obviously shaken by the fight. But the truth was that he didn’t even hope that Jonghyun would need something so soon.

“Sure. What is it?”

“I’m going shopping but I actually don’t know any places around here. So I thought if you could maybe come with me?”

 

 

 

It turned out that Jonghyun wasn’t really interested in shopping as much as he just wanted to distract himself.

After they made sure they’ve been to each and every shop in the mall near their place, and Jonghyun still seemed reluctant to go home, Jinki suggested they might go for a coffee.

Much to his pleasure, Jonghyun agreed and when Jinki bashfully admitted that the place they went to was actually _his_ , Jonghyun seemed genuinely impressed. Jinki felt his heart inflate with pride and affection for the other man, watching as he looked around with his wide eyes, taking in the old but clean furnishings, the bar made in dark wood, everything bathing in dim light and strong coffee smell.

 

 

 

“You know, sometimes I wonder if I did the right thing... becoming a musician, I mean,” Jonghyun uttered thoughtfully later, sipping on his latté, extra whipped cream, cinnamon on top, as they sat in the club chairs similar to those that Jinki had at home.

Jinki watched him curiously and waited for him to continue. When Jonghyun just looked at some point on the wall in front of him, zoning out, Jinki cleared his throat.

“I think you’re really good,” he simply said. “I’ve heard you play,” he added when Jonghyun looked at him questioningly.

“Ah, but those were just some ideas I needed to vent,” he scoffed then, biting his lip, making Jinki’s heart melt a little in progress.

“I liked it,” Jinki smiled.

“Thank you. Wish my manager thought the same thing,” the other man said but smiled back.

“Your manager?”

“The guy who came today, throwing tantrum at me. I’m sure you must’ve heard him as well,” Jonhyun said, his smile getting the slightest tint of bitterness. “Actually, he’s just worried about me. I should start touring again soon but he thinks I can’t do it.”

“This is what you meant about getting back in the game?”

“Pretty much. But I’m afraid that Key might be right. Maybe it’s too soon.”

Jinki thought about Jonghyun’s words, trying to put the little pieces of what he knew so far together. His eyes wandered from the musician to the bar – Taemin working there smirked playfully at him – and to the piano that stood in the very corner of the café for guests to use.

That was when an idea struck him, crazy and daring but way too tempting.

“If it’d be any help, I could set up a warm up concert for you here,” he suggested, trying to hold back his excitement as he found the idea to be nothing short of a genius.

Jonghyun sat silent, the cup of coffee in his hands forgotten, carefully studying Jinki’s face.

Finally his face softened as he leaned back in the chair, crossing his legs and tilting his head.

“Why are you so kind to me, Lee Jinki?” he asked, his eyes narrowing, though there seemed to be no hard feelings in the question.

Jinki himself wondered why.

 

 

 

The following days Jinki spent basically living in Jonghyun’s flat.

Jonghyun admitted that he was having quite the troubles with finishing few of the songs that were supposed to be included on his comeback album – or yet another _debut_ album, as he liked to call it – and after countless of hours they’ve spent together planning out the concert, he asked the older man if he was willing to listen to the songs and help him to polish them.

Much to Jinki’s disappointment, that didn’t go without Key’s, Jonghyun’s manager _and_ friend, supervising and constant ranting. But at least he would bring them food were they too immersed in composing, since he apparently cared about Jonghyun very much.

Jinki’s experience with songwriting counted zero to none but Jonghyun insisted he needed his help. And so Jinki would sit on Jonghyun’s couch, snuggling with Roo, watching the younger man play, listening to his mellow voice singing songs about loneliness, love and some more loneliness.

Sometimes, Jinki’s stomach would clench with feelings that he haven’t even recognized at first because it’s been such a long time since he’s felt that way about someone.

“Yah, why’s he here again,” Key’s voice startled Jinki form his contemplation as he arrived, dropping a box of fast food chicken wings on his lap, gaining himself a whole lot more respect from Jinki.

“Because I need him,” Jonghyun said sternly from his spot by the piano, not even looking up, sending those infamous butterflies right to Jinki’s stomach because not even his favourite food could distract him from the fact that _Jonghyun needed him_.

“He’s my inspiration,” Jonghyun grunted then in reply to Key’s unamused scoff.

By that time Jinki’s cheeks were already flushed red and he felt only a little discontent with how Jonghyun and Key were talking about him as if he even wasn’t there right next to them. The words about Jonghyun needing him still stuck in his head like a broken record.

 

 

 

“Hey hyung!” Jonghyun entered Jinki’s flat, proceeding to the living room right away. “Key wants to go to noraebang, d’you want go with us—“

The man stopped in the middle of the room, blinking, as he was greeted with the sight of a young boy sitting in one of Jinki’s chair.

He was _beautiful_ , looking up to him with those doe eyes, dyed hair framing his face, soft smile on his plump lips.

“I-I, _uh_ —“ Jonghyun trailed off, scratching the back of his neck, smiling nervously, obviously taken back by surprise. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know Jinki hyung had a v-visit,” he stammered out and started to back off, whole lot of emotions brimming his eyes.

Luckily, Jinki chose that exact moment to return to the room, holding two cups of tea, nearly spilling them all over his front as he startled himself with Jongyhun standing there. The other man got up from the chair, taking the cups from Jinki.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know—“ Jonghyun began but Jinki just smiled and put an arm around his shoulder, ignoring the twitch going through the shorter man’s body.

“Jonghyun, this is Lee Taemin, my friend and co-worker. Taemin, this is Jonghyun,” he said, his smile bright and contagious, as the pretty boy smiled almost just as brightly, Jonghyun following suit.

“Nice to meet you,” Taemin said and bowed his head a little, not mentioning the fact that not only he’s seen Jonghyun in their café on that one day Jinki brought him there, but that he also heard about him almost every day, Jonghyun being pretty much all Jinki talked about lately.

 

 

 

When Jinki agreed to going to the noraebang, Taemin tagging along, he had no idea what he’s gotten himself into.

Causing way too many awkward situations without even looking apologetic (like the one when Taemin sent him off to order him a shot of vodka and then suddenly remembering that he actually hated vodka, therefore sending Jonghyun to the bar too, because he wanted tequila instead), Taemin has obviously made it his goal for the rest of the evening to mate him together with Jonghyun at any cost—

(“Since you’re so useless you can’t ask him out even after _weeks_ living together, no offense, hyung.” “...we don’t live _together_.” “ _Yet_.”)

—while Key decided that he has never seen anyone cuter than Taemin and Jinki thought he has never witnessed anyone more bipolar than Key, because the change from the bossy drama queen to an actually decent guy he underwent in order to seduce Taemin was just scary. The fact that he was holding a conversation about _English_ _literature_ on par with the younger boy who was, in fact, a literature major, being rather self-expalanatory.

And then there was Jonghyun and even though Jinki thought that his crush on him couldn’t get any worse than it already was, _it_ _did_.

Apparently, Jonghyun has been holding back while singing back in his flat because the things he was doing with his voice while singing pretty much entire Brown Eyed Soul’s second album all by himself were gorgeous.

 _He_ was gorgeous, and Jinki couldn’t look away from him.

As the evening went, Jinki had to admit that Taemin was right. It was beyond him how he could go on without actually trying to do something about that crush of his that was growing into some crazy dimension, and so he promised himself that he would confess to Jonghyun before the end of the night.

His chance came when Taemin announced that it was his time to leave. Key was on his feet in a second, asking if he could see him off. Jinki briefly registered Taemin’s cheeks getting the most adorable tint of pink as he nodded his head and waved Jinki and Jonghyun goodbye.

They were abandoned like that and neither of them seemed to mind.

Suddenly, Jinki could feel his palms getting wet, his heart racing at a dangerous pace.

However, Jonghyun was the first one to break the silence.

“I’ve been thinking, hyung,” he said with hands folded on the table, eyes fixed on the floor. “I’m afraid I can’t do it,” he said quietly, obviously talking about something that was bothering him for a while.

Jinki could see his eyes glisten with tears as he looked up to him. But that didn’t do anything to clear the confusion arising in Jinki’s mind.

“What?” he asked brightly.

“The concert, releasing the album... I’m afraid I can’t do it,” Jonghyun repeated, brows furrowing, his words slurring noticeably.

A realization hit Jinki and he put his hand on Jonghyun’s, squeezing it lightly.

“You know, I thought I had it all,” Jonghyun continued, his pretty eyes out of focus. “I thought I had it all but one day, one single moment, was enough to destroy everything. And I tried really hard, you don’t even know how hard I tried to move on. But... I don’t think I can do it.”

“I think you’re tired, Jonghyun. We’ll talk about it tomorrow, okay?” Jinki said after a while of thinking and patted his hand reassuringly.

Jonghyun sighed and shook his head, swaying dangerously on his chair. “You don’t know anything, Jinki. You’re so kind to me, but you don’t know anything.”

That hurt Jinki a little because it was true. He knew Jonghyun for only a little over four weeks and no matter how hard he’d tried, it seemed that for reasons unknown to Jinki, the other man couldn’t fully open to him.

Furthermore, Jinki still had no idea what was the reason behind Jonghyun’s hiatus and whenever he tried to bring it up, Jonghyun would change the topic. Jinki was telling himself, that it wasn’t any of his business and until Jonghyun trusted him enough so that he would tell him everything himself, there was nothing Jinki could do.

“Come, let’s get you home,” he said in the end, getting up and taking Jonghyun’s hand into his own, ignoring the electrifying feeling shooting through him at the touch.

Confessions had to wait.

 

 

 

He was woken up by Roo licking his entire face.

That and low moans coming from the general direction of Jonghyun’s bed.

He grunted and got up from the couch, slowly walking to Jonghyun’s bedroom, unsure on his legs only a little more than usually.

“Jonghyun, are you okay?” he asked, sneaking his head to the room, his eyes met with nothing but a pile of covers and another groan.

“ _Jjong_?” Jinki tried, sitting on the edge of the bed.

The covers shifted, revealing a pale face that looked pretty much how Jinki imagined the ‘kicked puppy face’.

“Roo needs to go for walkies,” Jonghyun whined, squinting his eyes in the much too bright light.

Jinki gingerly put a hand on the place that he supposed was Jonghyun’s back, holding back a solicitous smile.

“I’ll walk him. And then I’ll make you a soup, okay?” he said.

Jonghyun didn’t argue.

 

 

 

Somehow, after Jinki came back from the walk and made Jonghyun the necessary pick-me-up soup, they ended up on the couch, lazing around for the rest of the day.

Jonghyun didn’t brought anything from the previous evening up and Jinki thought he might have forgotten about it, although he seemed a little down. Either way, even after his hangover gotten better, Jonghyun didn’t want Jinki to leave. Later during the day he even gathered himself enough to cook them lunch, buying Jinki with chicken breasts.

Not that Jinki needed to be bought.

Looking at Jonghyun getting back to his usual energetic self as he danced around the kitchen, singing along in a broken English, Jinki was sure he was in love.

The realization hit him like a ton of cotton candy, sending his skin on fire where Jonghyun’s fingers softly brushed against his hand when they were doing the dishes together, talking non-stop about the concert.

The older was glad to see Jonghyun getting all excited about it again. Still, he couldn’t forget the image from the previous night, the eyes filled with tears and those words the other man said, and Jinki promised to himself that he would do everything to prevent Jonghyun from feeling that way ever again.

“Thank you so much, hyung. For everything,” Jonghyun said, placing his hand over Jinki’s, as they sat across each other by the dining table, successfully causing Jinki’s heart race with the touch. “When I moved in here, I wouldn’t have even imagined meeting someone like you.”

Jinki smiled, eyes disappearing. “I’ve never met anyone like you before,” he said honestly, feeling his ears burn, embarrassed, when Jonghyun laughed.

For a moment, Jinki feared that he was about to make a fool out of himself. That he’s been only imagining the way he felt just so good and relaxed with Jonghyun by his side, dreaming all those little touches, reading too much into all those smiles.

Feeling his heart squeeze painfully, he watched as Jonghyun’s smile faltered and his shoulders slouched in a deep sigh.

But then the younger man bit his lip and forced the smile back, although it never reached his eyes again.

“Look at you, Jinki hyung,” he said quietly. “You’re so amazing. Running your own business, in charge of ten other people. You live in your own flat and have that amazing wicked angel that Taemin is as your best friend and everyone admires you even though you don’t always see it. And then there’s me with my non-existent musical career, questionable piano skills and a list of social phobias longer than Taemin’s dissertation yet still, you’re always so kind to me.”

Jinki leaned forward, sprawling across the table, and looked up to Jonghyun’s eyes.

“The truth is that my parents have always been very strict. They would never allow me to bring friends home, and never _ever_ let me stay over at any friend’s place. Taemin has been the only one who would stick with me through the years. They wanted me to follow their medical footsteps and the fact that I didn’t disappointed them so much they barely talk to me now. Doctors’ son running a pub, what a disgrace,” Jinki grimaced.

“But I am happy,” he said and smiled from his position, feeling like he might about to die of happiness when Jonghyun smiled back.

“My parents are the exact opposite. They’ve never been strict at all, but they’ve also never _been there_. Mom is the most amazing piano player you’ve ever heard and dad’s a conductor. My sis took care of me most of the time when they were too busy touring. But she has her own family to take care of, so I’ve figured it was about the time I moved on, too. It’s scary and little lonely, though.”

Jonghyun fell silent, looking nowhere in particular as he bit his lip again.

“It doesn’t have to be,” Jinki uttered quietly, ignoring the blood rushing to his head as he twined his fingers with Jonghyun’s and the latter didn’t move away.

“Hyung?” he only asked, his eyes twinkling with a new emotion, and Jinki wasn’t sure if it was his mind playing tricks on him or if the other man seemed to liven up.

“I really like you, Jonghyun. I’ve liked you since the first moment I saw you. Over the weeks it’s only gotten worse and I’m afraid you’re the only one who can do something about it—“ Jinki paused, taking a deep breath because the air was considerably missing in his lungs, not that breathing was any important, considering the turn of things.

Considering the fact that the next thing Jinki knew was Jonghyun’s body pressing into his and their lips meeting in the softest of touch, leaving them both craving for so much more when they parted after what seemed like a blink of an eye and an eternity at the same time.

“I was so afraid it was just me,” Jonghyun said, looking actually happy for the first time since he had fallen into the slump the day before.

Foreheads touching, he wrapped his arms around Jinki’s neck to keep him from going anywhere. Not that Jinki intended doing so, as he held onto the shorter man, relishing the feeling of having him in his arms.

The next kiss was more crashing their lips together, hungry and needy, and Jinki didn’t know – was it just him or did the room become really hot? Eliciting a moan from Jonghyun, he deepened the kiss, all his senses overwhelmed with Jonghyun. Jinki breathed him, felt him with his palms under his shirt, his ears full of his low voice.

“Jinki, I need you.”

Jinki didn’t need to be told twice. Hell, he needed Jonghyun just as much, and suddenly the weeks that he spent just living _next_ to him seemed terrible and he regretted every day, every minute that he haven’t spent _with_ him, ready to make it up to them.

He didn’t know how they made it to the bed, mess of limbs and more sloppy kisses along the way, clothes lost on the floor under the bed and they couldn’t be fast enough yet they wished they could stop the time.

All Jinki knew was that Jonghyun was beautiful, as he took in the sight of the shirtless man panting beneath him, eyes clouded, hair disheveled. His skin was hot against Jinki’s palms yet he was shuddering under the older man’s touch, goose bumps remaining where Jinki touched him as he worshiped him with his lips, tracing kisses all along the hot hot skin, leaving marks on everything that Jinki considered _his_.

Jinki occupied himself at the nape of Jonghyun’s neck, teeth digging into the flesh, pulling a moan out of Jonghyun. Skimming along his collarbone he continued to his shoulder, nibbling there with a little more pressure and gasping as Jonghyun’s fingers sunk into his hair, tugging at it lightly. He guided Jinki’s mouth back to his lips, locking them in a kiss so deep it left them both light-headed.

 

Jinki’s fingers dug into his hips, holding him in place as he was now on all fours, ready to take him in.

“Jinki—“ he whimpered as Jinki ran his tongue flat against the tender skin on his back, placing countless kisses where the skin was paler, softer, more sensitive. The long, deep scar cruelly stood out against the tan flesh, copying the track of his spine, telling Jinki heartbreaking stories that Jonghyun couldn’t say himself.

“You’re gorgeous,” Jinki whispered lowly, his breath hot against Jonghyun’s ear, as he pressed his chest against his back, causing Jonghyun to quiver beneath him and groan loudly, as Jinki slowly pushed in.

He waited for him, waited for the one single curious rock of Jonghyun’s hips back against him when the smaller man finally accustomed to the foreign feeling inside of him. Jonghyun moved to meet him, his heat engulfing Jinki fully, moaning as the man behind him pulled out and thrust back in. Steadying their pace, his mouth and hands were everywhere, on every inch of Jonghyun, soothing the pain and sending shivers down the younger’s spine.

Jinki thought he’s never felt anything more amazing than having Jonghyun so close, skin on skin, no space and no more secrets between them. Definitely not at that moment because everything Jinki ever wanted to know was evident in the way they were sliding together, Jonghyun accepting him, the heat between them becoming too much to handle yet nowhere near _enough_.

Jinki moved slowly inside him, fascinated with how _right_ it felt, Jonghyun meeting him with each thrust, squeezing him so tightly it had Jinki seeing stars and thrusting faster, deeper, sending jolts of pleasure through both of their bodies.

At some point, Jonghyun craned his neck to lock their lips together. Jinki swallowed his moans hungrily as he rode inside him, his thrusts becoming erratic. He shifted, searching for a better angle, nails digging into the flesh on Jonghyun’s sides as he pushed in further, groans and curses slipping his lips. Bringing his hand down, he wrapped his fingers around Jonghyun’s length, helping the smaller man to find his release, nearing his own as Jonghyun sucked him in needily. After few more thrusts, Jonghyun came with a loud cry and Jinki’s name on his lips, clenching around him in a way that had Jinki over the edge moments later, releasing into him, connecting their mouths in a hot, wet kiss.

Finally, their trembling limbs gave in, sending them collapsing into a slump on the bed, a heap of panting bodies and tangled limbs.

They lay there for what seemed like another lifetime, before Jinki pulled out, instantly missing the feeling of Jonghyun around him.

His chest heaving with every breath, Jonghyun turned around and faced the older boy with a teeny tired smile. He wrapped an arm around Jinki’s neck, pulling him in for a kiss, soft and sweet.

“I’ll call you Onew,” he breathed out, the words barely audible with how the exhaustion crept through him.

Jinki chuckled and tucked him closer into a warm embrace.

“I love you,” he whispered.

He was met with only silence for an answer as Jonghyun has already drifted off to sleep, his body fitting just right where Jinki’s arms held him close.

 

 

 

“Key has friends everywhere and somehow he managed to keep it a secret, apart from a few official statements. To be honest, I don’t remember much from that time. I mean, one moment I was on stage performing, the next I was waking up in a hospital because... _a fan_ has apparently tried to kill me,” Jonghyun said, the end of the sentence fading in his bitter laugh. “And now I’m about to do the exact thing I’ve been avoiding for more than a year,” he scoffed as he lay on his stomach, hands folded under his chin.

Jinki ran his fingers along the scar, the only proof that the nightmare was real, on the singer’s back. Suddenly he felt much more  
aware of everything, the fact that Jonghyun let him into his personal space all the more wondrous.

“I won’t let anything bad happen to you,” he said.

 

 

 

The next day Jinki had to work and saying that he didn’t hate his life at that moment would be a lie, because leaving Jonghyun’s side was simply the hardest thing he has ever had to do.

He didn’t even bother to hide his blissful smile as he was making the coffee, especially tasty that day _just_ _because_.

Lost deep in his thoughts for the most of the day, he was ignoring Taemin’s sideway glances and his not-even-subtle remarks on “someone having a good weekend”.

That was until a person dashed through the glass door, going straight for the bar, his feral eyes burning with rage.

“Yah! Lee Jinki! You didn’t even had a date yet and you’ve _already_ —“ Key gritted his teeth, slamming him palm on the bar instead of a greeting and for a moment, Jinki thought he would be grabbed by a collar, smacked in the face. But Key just stood there, his face hovering way too close to Jinki’s, glaring at him, obviously holding back from saying too much because Jinki _was_ his hyung, after all.

“Just don’t make me kill you,” he hissed then, his voice reminding Jinki more a growl than anything and yeah, Kim Kibum could be scary as fuck, he thought. But before he could say anything, Key turned away from him, his eyes softening as soon as he noticed Taemin standing right next to Jinki.

“Taeminnie, I’m looking forward to tonight!” he pretty much chirped and dropped a chocolate box in front of the younger man.

“See you!” he waved his goodbye and left as suddenly as he came.

“Yep, totally bipolar,” Jinki muttered under his breath and went to take orders, his mind already travelling back to Jonghyun.

 

 

 

Sound of the piano wandered through the highs and lows in a slow melody, the voice carrying above all like velvet, stealing Jinki’s heart with each line, with each syllable, each note that Jonghyun hit.

“Words like violence, break the silence.”

The concert came and went much too fast for Jinki’s liking and before he knew it, Jonghyun was singing the last song of the set, something about enjoying the silence, not that Jinki paid any attention to the English words.

He couldn’t get enough of the sight of Jonghyun on stage. And even though it wasn’t cool at all, he spent pretty much the entire show with his mouth agape because he has never seen anything more gorgeous than the man, _his_ _man_ , on the stage, accompanying himself only on the piano, the dim lights making him look even more beautiful.

“Come crashing in, into my little world.”

Jinki wished he could say that the day Jonghyun came crashing in into his little world has been the happiest day of his life but the truth was that every day was just as happy with Jonghyun by his side.

“All I ever wanted, all I ever needed, is here in my arms.”

_With Jonghyun in his arms._

Jinki smiled, feeling his heart inflating with pride as he watched all the people who came just so they could see and hear Jonghyun. 

His mind drifting to the nearest future, he imagined how they would run to each other after the concert and with hands linked together, completing each other, they would make it through the night, both of them looking forward to the moment they would close the door to their flat, finally alone, finally together.

The feeling of immense satisfaction seeped through Jinki at the thought that to each other, they were all they ever wanted, all they ever needed.

 

 


End file.
